Never Quit Attitude Nets Smith Top-10 Finish At The Glen
Never Quit Attitude Nets Smith Top-10 Finish At The Glen
Watkins Glen, N.Y. (June 7, 2009): Jonathan Smith didn’t let a brake issue dampen his competitiveness in the Tioga Downs Casino 125 at Watkins Glen this weekend. Instead, the young diversity driver rallied through it and posted his first top-10 of the young NASCAR Camping World Series East season.
“We had no brakes all race. We couldn’t figure out the problem. We kept changing them, changing them, changing them. We changed them right before qualifying and still nothing. Other than that the car was good. I love road courses and I have a lot of fun here,” said Smith.
The brake issue reared itself in the only two hour practice session the teams had all weekend. Instead of getting seat time, Smith and the Fadden Racing crew were trying to figure out how to resolve the issue.
“It was tough to chase a brake problem when you only get two hours of practice,” said team owner Mike Olsen. “We changed rotors, calibers – we went through everything we could. He’s a really good road course racer, but he needed that experience out there on the track in practice.”
Smith posted a lap 115.105 mph in qualifying Friday afternoon and earned a 12th place starting position. The team opted to drop to the rear of the field for the start of the race so they could continue to try and correct the problem with the brakes.
Smith and Olsen decided not to pit with the leaders at lap 15 early in the race and remained out on the track – moving up to second in the running order during a caution flag. When the race went back to green, Smith pulled onto pit road for a quick fuel and go and went back out at the tail end of the field. By lap 30, he made it back up to tenth.
Smith maintained his position in the top-10 for the remaining 24 laps – three laps past the event’s originally scheduled distance.
“I’m happy with that. I just wanted to survive and make it through and not wreck the car. We did that and gained some points so we’re pretty happy with that,” Smith concluded.
The sixth race of the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Series East season is slated for Friday, June 25 with the Heluva Good! Summer 125 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H.
Fifth Straight Top-15 Finish For Delaney At The Glen
Fifth Straight Top-15 Finish For Delaney At The Glen
Watkins Glen, N.Y. (June 7, 2009): Dustin Delaney posted his fifth straight top-15 finish this season when he drove the No. 39 Delaney Infrastructure Chevrolet to an 11th place finish in the Tioga Downs Casino 125 at Watkins Glen International road course Saturday. Delaney came back from an unscheduled pit stop to fix a broken shock bolt during the NASCAR Camping World Series East event.
“We had to make a green flag pit stop to fix a broken shock bolt,” explained Delaney. “But we never went a lap down and we only lost about six or seven positions from it.”
Delaney brought an untested car to Watkins Glen, and got a little help from road racing ace Boris Said during practice. Said, who had driven the car previously in another series, took it out for a few laps during the two-hour session.
“We just wanted him to shake it down,” said Delaney.
Delaney qualified 13th fastest after posting a lap of 114.495 mph, but started ninth after four cars in front of him were sent to the rear for unapproved changes. The Mayfield, N.Y. native dropped back to 12th where he remained until he pitted with the leaders at lap 15.
Delaney returned to the track in 13th for the restart at lap 18, and moved up to ninth before the next caution flew at lap 21. Delaney was solidly running in the top-15 when, at lap 41, he pulled onto pit road during green flag action for the broken shock bolt. The caution flew on the same circuit, mitigating the potential injury of pitting during race action.
Delaney returned to the track in the 15th position for the restart at lap 43. He gained back four positions before the conclusion of the race at lap 54.
“This car was very good and I really enjoyed it out there,” said Delaney. “My confidence is getting up there so each time I get out on the road course the more I like it. I’m looking very much forward to the next road course race.”
The sixth race of the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Series East season is slated for Friday, June 25 with the Heluva Good! Summer 125 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H.
Kobyluck Rallies For Runner-Up Finish At The Glen
Kobyluck Rallies For Runner-Up Finish At The Glen
Watkins Glen, N.Y. (June 7, 2009): Matt Kobyluck, driver of the No. 40 Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet, posted his first top-five of the season at Watkins Glen International road course Saturday morning and moved up to third in the point standings with his effort. Kobyluck took advantage of a last lap battle between Patrick Long and Ryan Truex to move up from third to second on the last corner of the track.
“Things played out there at the end,” said Kobyluck. “We had a top-five car just not a car good enough to win. They started tangling there at the end, and I didn’t have anything for either one of them. I was right there to take advantage of it. They made contact and the 03 got up on the rumble strip going through the corner and I was able to go by him. I gave everything I had going down into turn 11 to try and catch the 00, but he ran hard and he got the position.”
Kobyluck began his road to the championship last year with a win at the Glen, and he’s confident that this finish will mark the beginning of a solid championship bid. The team came into the event with high hopes of defending that win, and kicked it off optimistically with a third place qualifying effort of 118.686 mph.
Kobyluck settled in right behind early leader Matt DiBenedetto and Ryan Truex at the drop of the green. The Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet was relegated to fourth at lap 12 when Patrick Long drove by for the third position.
Following a lap 15 caution, Kobyluck followed a procession down pit road that included everyone except Eric Curran and Jonathan Smith. After a quick fuel up and go, Kobyluck was lined back up in the 10th spot. By lap 20, Kobyluck had already gained five spots and was running fifth when a caution came out.
The team moved up to fourth when Kobyluck passed Eddie MacDonald during the next green flag run, but caution again slowed his efforts. On the restart at lap 35, Kobyluck passed DiBenedetto for third and ran strong there for the next 20 laps.
A green-white-checkered flag extended the race by three laps from its originally scheduled distance with Kobyluck still in third. When Ryan Truex made his race-winning move on Patrick Long for the lead, Kobyluck was able to take advantage and wheel his way into second place for the checkers.
“Anytime you can get a top three it’s a momentum builder and puts some enthusiasm into the team.,” said Kobyluck. “We’ll take this and parlay it into something more at New Hampshire. I’m proud of my guys. They worked hard all weekend long as they always do, and we brought home a second place finish for Mohegan Sun Casino. We wanted to win this thing, and coming in here we thought we had a car good enough to do it, but changes between yesterday – the cloud cover and cooler temperatures – and today – sunshine and the warmer temperatures – we missed it just a little bit.”
Kobyluck Finishes 11th At South Boston
Kobyluck Finishes 11th At South Boston
South Boston, Va. (May 31, 2009): Mohegan Sun Racing driver Matt Kobyluck is not coming to terms with his finishes so far this season easily. The defending 2008 NASCAR Camping World Series East Champion completed the first third of the season with an 11th place finish at South Boston Speedway Saturday night, a track he’s had a lot of success on in the past. For some, that finish would have been considered a good day, but not for the 39-year-old driver of the No. 40 Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet.
“We didn’t just win the championship last year. We ran well, and we ran well everywhere we went. We dominated short tracks, we dominated road courses, and we ran well at the speedways,” he said. “We are trying the same things we had success with last year and its not working. I guess we’re going to have to try something different.”
Kobyluck was forced to a back up car at South Boston after hitting the wall when he blew a right front tire in the first practice. After thrashing to get everything switched over, the team went out and posted the tenth fastest time of the day in final practice. It was promising results.
In qualifying, things only got better. Kobyluck turned a lap of 16.308 seconds (88.300 mph) to earn a fifth place starting position.
The first half of the race reinforced the team’s optimism with Kobyluck being a solid top-five contender. By the 20th circuit, Kobyluck had moved up to fourth and it seemed nothing was going to slow him down.
The field was tightened up by caution at lap 40 and racing resumed at lap 46. Kobyluck moved up to third and was holding off the challenges of Sean Caisse by lap 50. Caisse went low and got up to Kobyluck’s door for an intense side-by-side battle. The duo battled it out for two full circuits before Caisse got the advantage in turn two. Caution came out at lap 55 and set the field up for a restart at lap 60.
When racing got back underway, Kobyluck got caught up in the high groove and was relegated back to eighth before getting down on the bottom groove. He continued to fall back in the field as the handling went away on him. At lap 102, Kobyluck brought the Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet down pit road for an adjustment.
“The right rear just went away on me and I had no grip,” Kobyluck said. “We tried tightening it up and it doesn’t have any effect on the car. We’re not just trying to tighten it up a little bit. We are going to extremes and the tires are just not responding to that.”
Kobyluck made up some ground before the checkers fell, but settled with a disappointing 11th place finish.
“We want to race to win – not run around somewhere in eighth or tenth. I can understand if that’s all you are capable of, but we know we are capable of more. We’ve proven that. That’s what is frustrating about it. We have got to get it figured out,” he concluded.
Kobyluck returns to the site of his first win last season – Watkins Glen International road course – next week for the running of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen on June 6th.
Smith Garners Hard-Fought Top-15 Finish At South Boston
Smith Garners Hard-Fought Top-15 Finish At South Boston
South Boston, Va. ( May 31, 2009): Jonathan Smith had the confidence, the car, and the know-how for a promising performance in the South Boston 150 Saturday night at South Boston Speedway. The NASCAR Camping World Series East driver sat the No. 16 Fadden Racing entry on the second row for the start of the race, but suffered the ill fates of short track racing and had to settle with a 14th place finish.
In time trials, Smith was the last of 23 cars to take to the track and his lap of 16.261 seconds (88.555 mph) earned a fourth place starting position for the No. 16 C Products LLC Chevrolet. It was his best qualifying effort of the season.
“Qualifying was really good. We didn’t really know what we were going to have because our mock run went backwards during practice. We made a couple of changes and tried to free it up a bit. We came out with a good run and I was really excited with fourth,” Smith said.
At the drop of the green, Smith settled in fifth behind Ryan Truex, Brett Moffitt, Sean Caisse, and Matt Kobyluck. He remained strong and kept his position through the first 37 laps of the race. On the 38th circuit, however, Smith went high in one of the corners and brushed the wall. He dropped back to ninth.
“The car was really good early. I was just hanging in there and I was just trying to run laps and learn from the guys that run up front every week. I got high at one point and hit the wall. I went back a little bit, but I got my composure,” Smith explained.
From that point on, Smith faced nothing but obstacles. He dropped back to tenth and got involved in a battle for position. Three drivers going for the same spot on a narrow racetrack could only spell disaster.
“I got the right front driven over. We were three wide, and we shouldn’t have been three-wide. Nobody wanted to back out so I did, but it was too late. After that I just got driven up into the wall. There was just no give and take out there.”
The second half of the race was more about survival than racing. Smith held on for a 14th place finish and moved up to 12th in the point standings.
Moffitt Scores Record Setting Win At South Boston Speedway
Moffitt Scores Record Setting Win At South Boston Speedway
South Boston, VA (May 31, 2009): Brett Moffitt isn’t wasting any time in declaring his talent behind the wheel of a NASCAR Camping World Series East racecar. Saturday night, the quiet-mannered driver spoke volumes when he took the lead for the third and final time from Ryan Truex at South Boston Speedway to become the series youngest winner in history. At 16 years, nine months, and 23 days old, Moffitt beat out Joey Logano’s record, which was set a month shy of his 17th birthday when he won the 2007 season opener.
“This is just awesome,” said Moffitt after the race. “I don’t even know how to describe it. We’ve been strong all season, but to get a win under our belts is just great. The car was perfect, and all the guys at Andy Santerre Motorsports are awesome. We couldn’t have had a more perfect night.”
Moffitt started the race on the outside pole after missing fast time by 2/1000th’s of a second. Moffitt wheeled the No. 44 Brettmoffitt.com/Red Line Oil Chevrolet to a time of 16.178 seconds (89.010 mph), but lost the pole position to Ryan Truex, who’s best time was 16.176 seconds.
At the drop of the green flag, Moffitt took the initial lead but succumbed to Truex on the second circuit. The two were side-by-side in the battle for the lead, but Moffitt opted for tire management and settled into the second position.
Moffitt reclaimed the lead on a lap 46 restart using the outside groove, and led for the next 14 laps before a restart allowed Truex to use the outside groove to his advantage.
“The outside was definitely better on the restarts because you could carry your momentum, but you definitely had to get to the bottom so that you could save your tires there,” Moffitt said.
A caution tightened the field up for a restart at lap 103, and after an intense side-by-side battle, Moffitt took the lead for the third and final time.
“You just never know with this place so I was kind of up in the air as to what to change in the car, but I just got it as good and balanced as I could. He did the rest. I can’t say enough about him: he’s a heck of a talent. I knew he would be good,” said car owner Andy Santerre.
Moffitt is currently second in the NASCAR Camping World Series East point standings – 26 points out of the lead. The next stop on the schedule is Watkins Glen International road course on Saturday, June 6th.
Delaney Rallies For Tenth Place Finish At South Boston
Delaney Rallies For Tenth Place Finish At South Boston
South Boston, Va. (May 31, 2009): Dustin Delaney continued his 2009 short track success with a solid tenth place finish in the Camping World Series East’s 150-lap feature at South Boston Speedway Saturday night. It was Delaney’s third top-10 of the young season, and solidifies a sixth place position in the championship point standings for the Mayfield, N.Y. driver.
Delaney came out of the box strong by topping the speed charts in the final practice session of the day. His fast lap of 16.082 seconds bested Ryan Truex, Ryan Gifford, Ryan Duff, and Brett Moffitt, and was 7/10th’s quicker than his fastest lap in the first practice session.
“We struggled getting a handle on the car in the first practice session, but the guys worked real hard and turned it right around,” said Delaney. “We’ve been getting better and better at each race, and we’re still getting better.”
The team had high expectations for qualifying, but a lap time of 16.473 seconds (87.416 mph) in the Delaney Infrastructure Chevrolet earned him a 15th place starting position.
“We had a good car in practice, but both the guys and I thought the track was going to tighten up. We set it up loose expecting the track to tighten up and it never did,” Delaney said.
Patience and tire management were the key to surviving the tight confines of South Boston Speedway. Delaney was a solid top-15 contender in the first half of the race as few cautions stretched out the field.
“Last year we were pretty tore up when we left here,” explained Delaney. “You just have to be patient. You kind of want to let things settle down. It’s a long race and you have to know when to go and when not to.”
Once things got tightened up, Delaney was on his march forward. He was in the top-10 by lap 80 and became a mainstay there for the remainder of the event. Delaney advanced to ninth, but lost it to Eddie MacDonald just before taking the checkers.
“We’re on top of the charts in practice and having consistent finishes so I think we have some momentum going. The guys are all into it and so am I so we’re only going to get better,” said Delaney. “We’re pretty excited with the results we’ve been having.”
The NASCAR Camping World Series moves on to Watkins Glen International road course for the 28th running of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen on Saturday, June 6th.
Solid Iowa Run Moves Delaney To Sixth In Points
Solid Iowa Run Moves Delaney To Sixth In Points
Newton, Iowa (May 19, 2009): Fresh off a solid run at Kentucky Speedway in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, Dustin Delaney returned to his NASCAR Camping World Series East roots to post a 20th place finish in the Long John Silver’s 200, the series only combination event with the NASCAR Camping World Series West. Delaney was the 10th highest East Series driver in the finish and received tenth place points for his efforts.
“We gambled on a pit strategy that didn’t work out for us, but overall, we moved up in the points and we’re moving forward. That’s what it’s all about,” Delaney said.
Delaney started the race from the 21st starting position, but was confident he could wheel his No. 39 Delaney Infrastructure Chevrolet through the field. When the leaders came down pit road around lap 75, Delaney and his crew chief agreed not to change right side tires in hopes of gaining valuable track position.
“The car was good, we were good,” said Delaney. “Pit strategy can pay off big dividends or it can bite you. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a caution when we needed one and we had to race against guys that had a lot fresher tires than us.”
Delaney finished the race three laps down after getting spun in a battle for the beneficiary award at lap 118. Both Delaney and the 27 car were side by side when they both went around in turn two.
“We were trying to get the lucky dog and we were racing pretty hard. Our cars got loose and we both spun,” Delaney said about the battle that turned him around.
The Mayfield, N.Y. native was able to pit on the fourth and final caution period of the day at lap 178.
“Last year there were nine caution flags, and we were kind of banking on a similar situation,” Delaney added. “It’s okay – you have to gamble once in a while and push your limits or you never get ahead. We’re happy with the way the season is going and can’t wait to get back to it at South Boston in a couple of weeks.”
Perseverance Leads Kobyluck, Mohegan Sun Racing Team To Top-15 Finish At Iowa
Perseverance Leads Kobyluck, Mohegan Sun Racing Team To Top-15 Finish At Iowa
Earns Seventh Place Finish In East Series Point Standings
Newton, Iowa (May 18, 2009): Matt Kobyluck posted an overall 15th place finish in the Long John Silvers 200 at Iowa Speedway Sunday evening despite battling an ill-handling racecar. The Mohegan Sun Racing’s finish in the only East/West combination race bolstered the team to third in the NASCAR Camping World Series East point standings with a seventh place East Series finish.
“The car was tight in the middle of the corner up off,” explained Kobyluck. “I couldn’t carry a lot of corner speed and that was where I was lacking.”
The team brought a brand new, untested racecar to Iowa Speedway but thrashed to find the perfect combination for the race. Kobyluck was able to pick up 8/10th’s of a second from his practice times when the Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet hit the track for qualifying Sunday afternoon. The effort earned the team a tenth place starting position in the 200-lap race.
“We had limited practice time to figure out what the car wanted and what was going to make it work,” Kobyluck said. “We were definitely happy with the improvement from practice to qualifying.”
At the drop of the green, Kobyluck knew the team was in for a long day. The car wasn’t handling right, and the changes that would move it in the right direction were impossible to do on pit road. When the field came down for pit stops at lap 80, Kobyluck took on four tires and fuel, and the team made adjustments to try and free it up.
“There was nothing we could do on pit road that would make a drastic difference,” he said. “We needed to change front springs and we couldn’t do that. We just had to live with what we had.”
Kobyluck made the best out of the car, and rallied in the second half running as high as eighth at one point. The defending East Series Champion wheeled the car to a 15th place finish by the time the checkers dropped, but was the seventh highest East Series driver in the final rundown. Points are awarded based on each individual team affiliation with the Camping World Series East or West.
“We brought the car home in one piece and earned seventh place points,” Kobyluck said. “There are a lot of positives that came out of this race. I couldn’t have done it without the help of my crew, who worked really hard this weekend. They certainly put in a hard-fought effort.”
The 2009 season thusfar has yielded three top-10 finishes in three starts. The series returns to action on Saturday, May 30th at South Boston Speedway in Virginia. Kobyluck finished fifth in last year’s event at the 4/10th of a mile short track.
Dillon Battles For Win, But Settles For Runner-Up Finish At Tri County
Dillon Battles For Win, But Settles For Runner-Up Finish At Tri County
Hudson, N.C. (April 27, 2009): Austin Dillon raced his No. 3 Mom N’ Pops Country Ham/Camp Debbie Lou Chevrolet to a runner-up finish Saturday night in the Tri-County 150 Camping World Series East event.
Dillon swapped the lead with eventual race winner Matt DiBenedetto six times in the last 50 circuits. He got the jump on the final three restarts, but succumbed to DiBenedetto just two laps before the race conclusion at lap 165.
“It was just a heck of a race,” said Dillon. “I drove (Matt) hard, he drove me hard and we had a good race going there. I burned myself up a little early but we decided to see what we could get out of it. We’re just here to have fun and go out and win races. We gave it one heck of a try.”
The Tri County 150 marked Dillon’s season debut for the series, and he came out of the box strong with a qualifying effort of 86.575 mph. The effort earned the team a fourth-place starting position.
Dillon maintained a position in the top five in the early laps and started his progression forward at lap 50 when he passed polesitter Alan Tardiff for fourth. A caution came out right after the move and tightened the field up for a restart at lap 62. Dillon wheeled right into third at the drop of the green and was running second just a few laps later.
Caution flew at lap 96 and set the stage for the action to follow. On the restart, Dillon maneuvered his No. 3 Mom N’ Pops Chevrolet past DiBenedetto exiting turn one. He commanded the race for seven laps before caution put him side-by-side with DiBenedetto again at lap 112. The two went door-to-door through turns one and two, but Dillon pulled ahead going into three. DiBenedetto went out front using the bottom at the start/finish line to reclaim the lead.
A caution at lap 142 brought the pair back together again for what was supposed to be a green-white-checkered finish. At the line, it was all Dillon, but DiBenedetto and Patrick Long got alongside him to make it a three-wide battle. DiBenedetto took the lead just as the caution flag flew again at lap 149.
Racing resumed at lap 155 with Dillon jumping right out front, but an accident on the backstretch slowed the action before the lap was even completed. NASCAR reverted to the last completed lap in determining the lineup for the final attempt at a green-white-checker finish, with DiBenedetto assuming the lead.
Dillon jumped out front when it went back to green at lap 163, but DiBenedetto made a run on the inside heading off of turn two to take the lead and eventual win.
“It was a lot of fun out there tonight,” said Dillon. “We would have liked to win it, but this is all good. I think we put on a heck of a show for the fans!”
The Tri County 150 will be aired on the SPEED Channel on Thursday, May 7 at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.